Star Fox: Vengeance
by Wolffury
Summary: Eight years after the Aparoid invasion, the Lylat system is at peace, but it won't last. With representatives from earth arriving, and demon army threatening to destroy the system. The Star Fox team are called into action once more. But with the odds against them, their only hope could be their most powerful ally, or their most dangerous foe.
1. Ch 1: Storm on the Horizon

_**Hello ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, dogs and cats, dragons of all ages. Welcome to yet another Star Fox fanfic. But you don't want to listen to me ramble, so I'll just leave the rest of what I have to say at the bottom of the page. On with the story!**_

* * *

**Ch. 1: Storm on the Horizon**

* * *

On the toxic and uninhabitable planet of Venom, there is a dark cave. Even during the day the cave rarely received so much as a beam of sunlight. Stalagmites and stalactites hung from the ceiling and jutted out of the ground. The dry air of the Venomian desert blew in through the single entrance of the cave as a dark form emerged from the shadows.

He was a young man, six feet tall with pitch black hair, coal black eyes, and skin as pale as bone. He wore all black clothes with a black floor length coat. His very presence made the hot desert air drop to freezing cold temperatures. He had a demeanor that radiated authority and power. A single glance from him would make a normal man tremble in fear.

He walked into the middle of the cave and turned to the shadows at the back of it, as the the night outside of the cave grew ever darker. He had plans that were unfolding, and the side trip to this cave would probably be a waste of his time. Especially since he was on time, and his summoner was late. And he did _not_ like to kept waiting.

"You summoned me here for a purpose. State your business while I give you the time. I've got other matters that need attending." He spoke into the darkness with a commanding voice that sounded slightly demonic.

Then another figure stepped out of the shadows. This time it was older man with silvery grey hair and black eyes. He was also dressed in black and carried a black cane with a blue crystal skull on top of it. Like the younger man he held an air of power and authority, but also a sense of wisdom gained from experience.

"I summoned you here to advise you against your current choice of actions, Blackheart." He spoke in a dead serious tone.

"And why is that? This star system of Lylat is ripe for the picking. When me and my ally unleash our forces, they will all burn. Then we'll move onto other systems."

"I would not trust this ally of your's. His previous attempts have been failures, and you have nothing to make sure that he does not turn on you."

"Unlike you, I don't need people to sell me their souls to get them to do what I want. Besides, once I conquer this pathetic system, I'll have plenty of souls. One will not matter to me. All he asked is that he rule Lylat when we're done. And I agreed, though I never told him how much of it would be left." He said with a devilish grin. "Besides, the Lylatians do not have any weapon that can harm me, or my fellow demons."

"They may not have the power to defeat you, but _The Rider_ does."

Blackheart's grin immediately faded into a grimace. "The Ghost Rider. What can he do? He is still stuck on Earth."

"No. _She_ is on her way here, to Lylat."

"How?"

"She stole away on board of the ship that left Earth to bring representatives here."

Blackheart took a second before smirking. "Well, she may be in Lylat, but I wonder how the Lylatians will react when they see her change? And besides, I know what happens to them when they first become the rider. She won't be looking for me. She'll be too busy running from herself."

"Suit yourself." Said the old man before he tapped his cane on the ground and disappeared. Leaving behind only a few wisps of black smoke.

* * *

Fox was standing in front of his closet, scratching his chin as he pondered what he was going to wear for when the humans arrived. He thought about wearing his combat gear, but that might seem a bit too hostile. Then there was a suit, but he hated those things, they itched too much for his liking. He thought about just wearing a shirt and jeans, but that might be too casual and he had a feeling Pepper wouldn't approve. _"I guess it'll have to be the suit."_

He personally didn't care enough to go in the first place, but General Pepper had personally asked for him to at least be present for the official welcoming that would occur the following night after they arrived. Fox wasn't entirely sure why it had to be the following night, probably to give their guests a day to get used to living in a different galaxy. He decided he would take the suit. At least he could hide his blaster better in that then in a t-shirt and jeans.

"Daddy daddy daddy!"

Fox turned to see his seven year old son, Marcus, run into his and Krystal's bedroom. He smiled as he reached down and scooped his son up in his hands. He gently threw him up in the air and caught him as Marcus let out a giggle of laughter.

"Hey, sport. How was the trip to the park?"

"It was great! Mommy and me played catch with the frisbee, then I played tag on the playground with the other kids, and then mommy let me have ice cream on the way home."

"Haha, sounds like you had a busy day." Fox chuckled as he set his son back down.

"Marcus! I thought I told you to put your shoes and the frisbee away," came his lovely wife's voice from the kitchen.

"Oh, right." Marcus muttered before sprinting back out of the room.

Fox stepped out of the master bedroom of their home. They had decided to go with warm and cozy rather than large and fancy when picking their house. It only had one floor, plus a basement, with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a two car garage. Fox stepped into the kitchen to find Krystal getting things out to start cooking dinner. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waste as he kissed her cheek. She smiled and turned herself around to kiss her charming husband.

"So what are we having tonight?" Fox asked as the kiss came to an end.

"Steak." She replied simply, but lovingly. There weren't words to describe how much she loved him. Their wedding day was the happiest day in her life, followed closely by the day their son Marcus was born. "So, finally decide what to wear?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid that the suit is the one that was the winner," he answered reluctantly. Krystal was perfectly aware of Fox's hatred for suits. Had their wedding day been anyone else's, he would have worn khaki pants and t-shirt. In fact he had seriously considered wearing those to his own wedding had she not talked him out of it.

"Well, it'll only be for a few hours. While Marcus was playing on the playground, I called Slippy and he said he would watch Marcus while we were gone."

"I'm slightly scared of what those two will do while we're gone." He said with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Oh it won't be anything too bad. Last time they only installed a spy ejector seat in your car."

"Yeah, and it nearly killed me the first time. Not to mention made the car rear-end another one."

"That was your fault for pressing the button without asking what it did. And admit it, you loved it."

"Did not."

"Then why didn't you have Slippy un-install it?" She had him there, and she knew it. Of course being a telepath came with those kind of privileges. She read his mind right then and found him searching for a reason to counter her's. When his search of his own mind proved fruitless, he decided to just give in. He almost always lost these kind of arguments with Krystal anyway. "Fine, you win."

"Good, now if you don't mind I still need to get dinner started, or we'll never get to eat."

"Okay," he said softly before lightly kissing her again. He wondered why he had taken so long to ask her to marry him, or to even ask her out for their first date. There was no other person he wanted to spend his life with than her and he would never let her go, never. "I'll go make sure Marcus put his stuff away."

"And have him clean up his room while he's at it. I was in there earlier and the place is a disaster zone." She called out to him as he walked down the hall.

Later that day several thoughts swam their way through Fox's mind. All of them about the humans who would be coming. After the Aparoids, Lylat was in a state of peace for eight years. Now, they learned that they weren't the only intelligent race in the universe. It was in fact the humans that had found them. A month ago a deep-space ship had warped into the outer edge of Lylat. It took them some time to establish a solution to the language barrier, but everything went fairly smoothly after that. It was a bit odd though, apparently Lylatians were "humanoid" versions of animals commonly found on their planet, Earth.

The humans hadn't attacked them when they first came into contact with them, which was a good thing. The humans were wanting peace between their two systems as were the Lylatians, but something was amiss in Fox's gut. He always got this feeling when something big was about to happen. He got it right before Andross attacked and he got it right before the Aparoids as well. He wasn't sure if the humans were involved, but something bad was coming. There was a storm on the horizon.

* * *

Jennifer Kale was not your average eighteen year old girl. Unlike most girls her age in the year 2058 she liked doing things with her hands. Wether it was sports, building with LEGO's, or working on her Harley-Davidson 720; she liked having the hands-on experience. Other girls would call this weird, since they did everything on their computer-glasses. The designer models instead of the bland old stock brands of course.

She was five foot six with golden blonde hair that was tied back into a pony tail with her bangs covering the left of her two ice blue eyes. She had rosy pink lips and her skin held a slight tan from playing sports and working on her bike in the sun. She had an athletic figure with a thin but well toned body.

Right now she watching from a distance as her former boyfriend prepared to leave for the spaceport. He had tried to get back with her but she had been extremely distant for the past month and their only contact had been school or an occasional text. Both of which she fervently tried to avoid. She never answered his calls, because she knew he could get her to spill her secrets to him if they spoke long enough. She still loved him, but she knew their relationship would never work.

Her ex-boyfriend, Jason Rogers, had been chosen to be one of several human representatives who would be sent to the newly discovered Lylat system. His ship left tonight and she had no idea when she would see him again. She had to speak to him, even if it was just to say goodbye. She couldn't have him leave on the cold shoulder she had given him. He deserved better than that.

She kick-started her bike and drove down the hill. She pulled up to his house and stopped right behind his Harley 720. Their bikes were identical in every way except for their respective names had been painted onto the side. Their parents had bought them for their seventeenth birthdays. They had blue flake paint with leather seats, and black leather saddlebags. Jason's had a suitcase strapped to the back of it.

Jason himself was crouched next to his bike organizing whatever stuff he had in one of the saddlebags. He had auburn hair that was was messy and naturaly curved over to his left. He had almond brown eyes that could either give off a glow of warmth, or a burn of anger. His skin held a faint tan like hers did. He was wearing a red short sleeved t-shirt, blue jeans, and black boots. His blue leather jacket with red and white detailing and a silver star on the back, was lain across the seat of his bike. Jennifer knew that if he had been standing up he would have been six foot three with a muscular build. She even caught herself staring at his muscular arms that were bare from his shirt. He was more than just a good looking guy though. He was an honorable, gentle, courageous, and caring person. You wouldn't want to have him as an enemy though. He was more than capable in a fight, and wouldn't back down from one if challenged.

"Hey there." She spoke up. Jason froze upon hearing her voice. He closed his saddlebag and looked at the source of the all too familiar voice. Sure enough, there was his former girlfriend. She was sitting on her bike staring at him with the one crystal ice blue eye that was visible. She was wearing the same attire that she always wore these days. Black. Black leather boots, black jeans with studded knee pads, black fingerless leather gloves with little dull studs on the back of the hand and fingers, and a black t-shirt. The t-shirt was worn under a black leather jacket with steel spiked shoulder pads, and sewn in elbow pads. Not to mention the silver steel biker chain wrapped over her left shoulder and across her chest.

He remembered the days before she wore those clothes. She used to wear the exact opposite colors. She originally kept her bangs out of her eyes as well. She used to wear white sneakers, white jeans, and white leather jacket over a light blue shirt that complemented her eyes perfectly. In his eyes she looked like an angel. The way her golden hair would sway as she walked. The sparkle that was ever present in her blue eyes. She was soft and loving, but had a tough and determined nature underneath.

Then that day came, the day that everything changed. For Jason, it started out as a normal day. Until he saw her that is. He was waiting to meet up with her in the hallway of school like he always did. Then everyone seemed to part to either side of the hallway, and it soon became obvious why. Jason had to take a second glance, but sure enough it was Jennifer. She was dressed in all black and had her bangs covering her left eye. Her normally cheerful nature that radiated sunshine, had changed into a dark and foreboding one that cast shadows everywhere she went.

Jason couldn't help it as his eyes travelled up and down her figure out of a mixture of shock and amazement. He couldn't deny it, she was _hot_. Yes, she looked that way before, but this was just...different. She walked up to him and he didn't even notice that his mouth had fallen open. He just stood there, staring at her and gaping like a fish out of water.

"J-Jennifer...w-wha..." She just glanced down at her feet before taking a deep breath and looking straight into his eyes before stating coldly. "It's over."

"W-what's over?"

"We are."

"W-what?" He asked in unbelief. This couldn't be happening. _Why_ was this happening? He'd just bought a ring yesterday so he could propose to her.

"I'm dumping you alright!" She yelled, tears starting to form in her eyes. "Our relationship isn't going to work, so I'm ending it alright!"

She then turned and stormed off down the hall, leaving Jason in a state of greater shock than before. He chased after her, but no matter what, she just gave him the cold shoulder. That night he just sat in his room, staring at the engagement ring he held in his hand. A life with Jennifer had been his dream, and it had just been shattered.

Jason brought himself back to real time, staring at the love of his life. They just stayed that way, staring at each other until Jason broke the silence.

"So...one month of the cold shoulder and now just before I leave the galaxy you start to warm back up." He couldn't help the annoyance that was laced into his voice.

"Look, Jason." She started dejectedly. "I know I ended things rather abruptly. _And_ that I've been rejecting you this past month. But, I just wanted to end this on a better note than we did. I don't want you leaving the solar system and hating me."

"I don't hate you. I just feel like I deserve a bit more explanation than _'We're not working goodbye.'_" He said waving his hand to emphasize the ending.

"I know. It's just...it's complicated."

"Jenn, whatever it is I will understand." He told her desperately. If things could be fixed, than he wanted to fix them.

"No you _won't_." She said firmly. "I just thought you deserved for me to tell you goodbye before you left and I never see you again."

"I _deserve_ to know just why our relationship failed! And what do you mean _'never see me again?'_ I'm coming back in a year, but you say it like I'm not coming back at all."

"It's not that I don't think you'll be coming back. It's just...goodbye Jason. I hope you have a good time in Lylat. Be safe." He thought he heard her mutter something, but she revved up her bike and drove off. So, now with more questions that he had before, he went back to packing for his trip.

* * *

Jennifer rode along the empty highways for hours, lost in thought. The highway was usually filled but the launch of earth's representatives to Lylat had everyone at home watching it on TV. She thought back to how her final conversation with Jason. She wished that it could have gone better. But sometimes there is no good way to have those conversations. She hoped he hadn't heard the final words she whispered to him. She hadn't intended to say them, but they just slipped out.

_"I love you."_

Those words echoed through her mind as she drove down the highway at twice the posted speed limit. The air rushed past her face and blew through her hair. She didn't mind, she was suffering too much from her hurting heart to care. Breaking up with Jason had been the hardest thing she had ever done. Everyday her heart yearned and pleaded with her to go running into his arms and kiss him.

But she knew it would never work out. Not since she learned what she was one month ago. The curse would never allow them to have a life together. She was tempted to try, but she was too scared that he would reject her once he learned what she was. She would rather walk willingly into the shadows and know that he still had feelings for her, rather than be cast out, unloved, into the darkness.

She pulled off of the highway and into the industrial area. She drove past several warehouses and factories before stopping in front of an abandoned warehouse where they used to build trucks. She looked at the sky and noted that the sun had almost set. She dreaded what would be coming next, when darkness finally set upon the world. It had been a month, but it never got any easier, or less painful.

She unlatched the gate to the iron chain link fence that surrounded the grounds and pushed it open. She got back on her bike and drove onto the warehouse grounds. The warehouse doors were open and she drove straight inside before stopping in the center of the warehouse. She looked around and the place was abandoned as always. Chains hanging from the ceiling lifts. Several sheets of metal forsaken to rust. An old truck engine laying in the corner of the giant steel building.

Jennifer tried to dismount her bike, but she couldn't. She tried to let go of the handle bars but her hands were stuck to them like they had been welded to there. Suddenly, her bike's engine revved on its own. There was only enough time before what happened next for Jennifer to think one thing.

_"Oh no. Not again."_

There was a loud high pitched **SCREECH** that echoed through out the warehouse as the back tire of her bike spun out of control. Tire smoke billowed out from the back of the bike as the aroma of burnt rubber filled the air. Her bike's brakes automatically released and she shot off and out of the warehouse. Her bike was under its own control as it drove out of the grounds and back onto the highway. Her bike pulled itself up into a wheelie as the tires burst into flame. Her entire environment turned into one large blurred image as her bike accelerated to insane speeds and left a trail of fire in its wake.

She didn't even realize she was being driven to the spaceport until it was too late. Her bike slowed down enough for to make out the shape of the representatives transport on the runway and read the words _Stark Industries _on the side. She noticed light coming from the back of it, as the crew finished loading the cargo bay. Her bike pulled her around till she was stopped fifty yards away from the back of the open cargo hold.

Her bike revved its engine in anticipation, like it was daring the ship in front of it to make a move. The cargo hatch started to lift up and close. Seeing exactly what it was waiting for, Jennifer's bike accelerated a towards the ship. At this speed Jennifer would crash into the transport and be vaporized. Her bike then sharply turned itself sideways and went from two-hundred to zero in point-five seconds flat. At the same time it released its magnetic hold on Jennifer, launching her off of the bike, through the air sideways, and into the cargo hold.

Her body made contact with the steel floor and momentum kept her rolling. She was stopped as her stomach made contact with the rear wheel of Jason's bike, which had been strapped down tight. She lay there for a few moments to catch her breath and regain her bearings. She then got up just as the cargo hold's doors finished closing.

Had this been another time, she would have wondered how her bike had gotten her past security. Or why it didn't come along with her. Or why and how her bike had a mind of its own in the first place. But she had stopped asking those kinds of questions a few weeks ago.

She looked around at her surroundings. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all solid steel. Cargo netting was draped on the walls and from the ceiling, holding several suitcases, bags, and small crates. Right behind her was Jason's bike, and to the left of that was a cherry red 1962 Corvette convertible. In front of the two before mentioned vehicles was a navy blue SUV. To the right of the room were several large crates.

Jennifer had to steady herself as the floor beneath her shook. They must have been preparing for takeoff. Looking around for someplace to go, she spotted a hiding spot in the cargo netting hanging from the roof. It was up in the corner, and had several spare cargo nets for her to hide herself in. She then put her athletic background to work as she quickly hustled to scale the side netting and reach the ceiling. The cargo netting proved troublesome at times, but only for a second. She reached the top and pulled herself into the roof netting.

She could feel things move around a bit more as the ship prepared to leave the atmosphere. She strapped, or rather tangled, herself in as best she could. She felt the ship sharply curve up and the entire room started shaking. She could sense rather than feel the g-forces being exerted. G-forces had literally no effect on her since whatever speed this ship could go up to and no matter how sharp of turns it could make; her bike had driven ten times as fast and made even sharper turns.

After several minutes of shaking and the rattling of her brains, it all stopped. Jennifer could feel the weightlessness that meant they were in space. She partly untangled herself from the netting, but still had her legs weaved into the netting so she wouldn't just drift off. She "leaned back" and relaxed as the ship would undoubtedly be making its warp jump to Lylat.

_"Well, at least I get to go a night without Rider coming out."_

* * *

_**So there's chapter one. What do you guys think so far? The inspiration for this came from fellow writer Order and Chaos' one-shot, Kurse of the Erinyes. I read it and wrote a review for it, then O&C replied to it and mentioned that Erinyes was a Greek spirit of vengeance. Which in turn got the gears of my head turning and voila. I can't say how frequent updates will be yet, I'll have to see how updating this as well as one of my other stories at the same time works out.**_

**_Also, for those loyal readers whom are reading my other SF fanfic, SF:WWII, and are wondering why I'm writing _this_ instead of updating _that_. SF:WWII was experiencing some technical difficulties that just got fixed last night, so the next chapter should be updated soon...ish. I'll include a more detailed description for why the delay when I update it._**

_**So, remember to feel free to write a review. They are appreciated. :) Until next time.**_

_**Wolffury out.**_


	2. Ch 2: Legends can Kill

**_Okay, this chapter is over 8'000 words. Twice as long as the first chapter. Wasn't planning on that but I got carried away. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy._**

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**Ch. 2: Legends can Kill**

* * *

Jason sat in his passenger seat on the transport ship as they warped to Lylat. He was in the seat closest to the door on the right side of the cockpit. The other four were occupied by his fellow representatives from Earth.

There was Elizabeth Henshaw; their pilot and mechanic. She was only sixteen, but she was more than qualified. Especially being one of the Stark Industries top engineers. Most wouldn't have employed such a young girl, but Stark Industries was known for thinking outside the box. She was five foot four with hazel eyes that held an intelligent look in them. Her fair skin had a few black smudges on it from checking the transport before take-off. Her hair reached down to between her shoulder blades and was chestnut brown with blonde highlights and black spots caused by motor oil stains. She was currently wearing a grey long sleeved shirt under a blue vest that had pockets and straps for all kinds of tools that were hanging from it. She wore some black hiking shoes, and a pair of blue jeans graced her skinny legs. She had a pair of black leather gloves on her hands and a black military cap on her head. He hadn't known her for long, but she seemed like a nice girl. She seemed to have warmed up to him rather fast. Most people did on account of who he was, but he guessed it also helped that he was the only other person near her age.

Then there was Trevor Brody; U.S. Marine for seventeen years and gun salesman/hunter for six. The guy was six foot six and built like a tank with almond brown eyes. His grey military buzz-cut hair stood out against his dark skin. He wore his green camouflage military fatigues and black combat boots, with his sidearm strapped to his leg. If you first looked at him you would've guessed that he was the strong silent type, and you would be right. Once you got to know him though, he was a pretty decent guy.

Elsa Radcliffe was the politician of the group. She was a former state senator with a snotty attitude. Sure, she played nice in front of the cameras and when it was necessary, but the rest of the time she was a cruel, vile, vulture. She was five foot three with grey hair that framed her pale and wrinkled toad-like face. Her grey eyes held an evil look behind them as they scanned the other people in the ship with her. She wore a woman's business suit at all times, with black high heeled shoes. Jason could tell that she didn't like him. She always gave him a death glare whenever she laid her eyes on him.

And last of all was Alvin Cooper; S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and leader of this mission. He was five foot eight with a moderate build. He had well kept black hair, pale green eyes, and freckled skin. His face always held a stoic expression, only smiling when absolutely necessary. The only thing that told his emotions were his eyes. He wore a navy blue suit with a white shirt underneath and a navy blue tie. His black shoes were polished enough to make a drill sergeant envious. He was a kind enough guy, but always took everything way too seriously.

The five of them had all been specifically chosen for this mission to represent Earth. Cooper was in charge of the entire mission. They had no idea which way this could go, so if things went south he would scratch the mission and they would get sent back to Earth. Brody was sent to help with military matters. If they had questions about our military or if we had questions about theirs, he was the guy. Else was sent to handle the more political matters, which Jason did not trust her with at all. If this mission took a turn for the worst, he had a feeling it would be because of her. Elizabeth was responsible piloting them there and back, as well as maintaining all their devices from Earth. She was also in charge of sharing their technology with the Lylatians, and learning from some of their own technological advancements. And Jason, he was there for two reasons: propaganda and protection. Their leaders back on Earth thought it was a good idea to send some of the younger generation along to learn about the Lylatians, hence why Elizabeth was there as well. He was also plan B in case things were _really_ bad. His skill set made him ideal, should the worst case scenario arrive.

They were seated with Alvin was sitting directly across from Jason with Elsa to the left of him, and Trevor sitting next to Jason on his right. Elizabeth was sitting in the pilot's seat at the front of the cockpit. Elsa was constantly glaring between him and Elizabeth. He could tell that she didn't trust her to fly the ship, despite the fact that Elizabeth had designed it.

In fact, Elizabeth was the one who made this trip possible. She was the one who designed the first ship that traveled to the Lylat system. She designed everything from the shape and layout to the Trinitron Hydrazine Orbital Reactor engine (or just _THOR_) that powered the whole thing.

"I hope you know what your doing missy," Elsa snarled at her. "If I had my way, we would be flying with a pilot who was around my age and knew what he was doing."

"Oh. So, we'd have a pilot who was as old as a dinosaur and is having an affair with a former senator," she replied in an happy tone. The remark received faint smiles from Trevor and Jason, although Jason had to raise an eyebrow at the nerve she had to throw out that last part. Alvin looked as impassive as ever, but Elsa seemed livid.

"Watch you tongue missy! You've got a lot of nerve speaking like that." She scolded.

"Please, I don't care much for the news, but I saw those headlines you made right before your divorce," Elizabeth countered in the same happy voice. "Besides, if you can't eat the vegetables, then don't cook 'em."

"Cake." Jason commented out loud.

"Beg your pardon?"

"It's cake. If you can't eat the cake, then don't bake it." That was a saying Jason knew all too well. It had been one of Jennifer's favorites.

* * *

He remembered when she first used it on him. They were swimming at a local pool about three years ago. They had just been swimming to relax when Jason decided to grab her, lift her out of the water, and dunk her back in. When she resurfaced she started chasing after him. After a while they calmed down and he held her in his arms while her's were wrapped around his neck. They just floated there and stared deeply into each other's eyes. Jennifer touched her forehead to his and just as he thought she was going to kiss him, she wrapped her legs around his in a way that allowed her to pull them out from under him, causing him to get submerged underwater. He resurfaced and found her giggling right next to him.

"That wasn't very nice." He told her off teasingly,

"Hey, if you can't eat the cake, then don't bake it." She joyfully replied with a smile adorning her angelic face.

* * *

"Trust me young lady, if _I_ was in charge of this operation, then you would not be _anywhere_ near here." Elsa monologued. "Why, if I had my way you would be cleaning the sewage pipes. That would teach you to respect your superiors."

"Hey, I've got respect for Agent Cooper, I've got respect for the President, I've got respect for my parents, I've got respect for my boss, I even have respect for Thor and I've never even met him. You're the only one I don't have respect for, and that's because you haven't earned it." Elizabeth replied with an edge to her voice while glaring over her shoulder at Elsa.

"Hmph, well at least Jason has enough respect for me to keep his mouth shut."

"Look, let's get one thing straight." Jason interjected forcefully before Elizabeth could reply to the remark. He did not like being dragged into their arguments, especially when Elsa twisted facts to make him look like the bad guy. "I don't have respect for you Elsa, never have and probably never will. What I do have respect for is your position. The politicians back home sent you on this trip, and put us under your command for certain circumstances. I have respect for the leaders back home and their decision, but that doesn't mean I like it. Are we clear?"

Elsa however just ignored him and went back to bad mouthing Elizabeth. "I must say, I feel sorry for your parents, having to live with you everyday for sixteen years."

"You know, every word out of your mouth makes me feel less and less guilty for installing that ejection seat in your chair to launch you into space." She cheerfully replied before anyone else could intercede. Jason could tell from the others' expressions that they agreed Elsa had gone too far.

"You wouldn't dare," she said, though it sounded a bit more like a question than a statement.

Elizabeth turned to glare at Elsa and spoke in a dead serious tone, "Try me."

Several moments of silence filled the air before Elizabeth turned back to face forward. The moments then stretched into minutes before she spoke up again.

"So, if you can't eat the cake, then don't bake it, huh? Where'd that come from?" Elizabeth asked.

"My girlfriend...ex-girlfriend used to say it a lot." He informed her with a depressed tone.

"Sounds like she meant a lot to you," she noted with her voice missing the happy cheer that it held earlier.

"She did." Jason replied before losing himself to his thoughts and subconsciously holding onto the engagement ring, that he could never bring himself to get rid of, in his pocket.

He always drifted into phases of thought like these, especially when Jennifer was brought up or if something reminded him of her. He thought about what their future could have been. About their honeymoon, their future house, even their future kids. He thought about their past, from the time they first met at Jackie's diner, to their sudden and unforeseen break-up. The latter of which he thought about the most. Some people thought he was obsessed with her, and they were partially correct, but their break-up seriously bothered him. It was sudden, it was unpredicted, it was cold, and most of all; it just felt _wrong_.

Naturally, most guys feel that way when they get dumped, but Jason knew something was off. Him and Jennifer were getting along great. He had run everything through his head and couldn't find any reason behind their break-up. Plus, Jennifer was a kind, gentle, sweet hearted girl. Granted, she could break someone's arm and K.O. them in less than a minute, but only if you pushed her far enough. Otherwise she was the last person you'd believe would dump her boyfriend in the middle of the hallway. She had changed. He just didn't know _why_.

* * *

Jennifer had her hands behind her head as she leaned back and tried to relax. Or she thought she was leaning back. It's hard to tell in zero gravity. It's also hard to relax when you have burning sensation at the base of her skull. She knew what it meant, but at least it was under control for the moment. She just hoped _he_ stayed that way.

She then came to the realization that she couldn't speak Lylatian. It may seem like something obvious to you, but with everything she had to deal with, languages weren't really a priority. She untangled herself from the netting and started looking around for anything that looked like it would contain spare translators. She didn't do well with languages. She had almost flunked basic Spanish in school, which proved to be a useless course since she ended up forgetting ninety-nine percent of it within a month. She knew that _he_ could translate for her, if he was in an agreeable mood (which was almost never).

She spotted several suitcases strapped to the back wall with the S.H.I.E.L.D. emblem on it. If any container had the translators, it would be theirs. Using the cargo netting, she pulled her way along until she reached them. She unstrapped one from the wall and opened it up; nothing but some high tech weapons. She placed it back before trying again on the second one, and bingo. The case had twelve spare translators/communicators. She was slightly afraid that they would be able to track her with it, but as long as her presence remained unknown she should be fine. They wouldn't think to track her if they didn't know she was there.

The translators were basically fancy touch-screens that were curved so they could be more discreet when attached to your arm using a special sleeve. Each unit had an earpiece that could be hidden within a secret compartment in the unit. She took the earpiece and placed it in her ear to get used to the feeling of it being there. She pulled up the sleeve of her jacket and slid on the translator's sleeve. She then clipped on the translator with a _click_ before pulling her sleeve down over it. She closed the case and placed it back before climbing back up to her hiding spot.

She wasn't sure how long it took to wrap between star systems, but she guessed she probably didn't have as much time as she wanted. She would have to figure out how to sneak off the ship when they landed. She would probably have to wing it since she didn't know the lay of the land. Then there was the problem of living on an alien planet with her only chance of escape a year away from now.

Once she got out of the ship she was going to have to find somewhere to hide. She would have preferred some farmland. Wide open spaces, plenty of places to hide, and not many people to bump into. Plus, she could live off the produce of the land. She didn't like the idea of stealing, but she would find a way to make it up to them somehow.

She had trouble keeping her thoughts straight though when she knew Jason was on the very same ship as her. He was in the next room for all she knew. For the second time that day, the close proximity to him caused her heart to plead for her to go and kiss him. To go grab hold of him and never let him go. To tell him the truth; that she loved him with all her being.

But then the cold fingers of reality grabbed hold of her, like they did every time she thought about Jason. They could never be together. Once he learned the truth, the _full_ truth, he would reject her; throw her out and leave her to suffer. Why wouldn't he? Her own mother had kicked her out after she learned what she was.

* * *

About ten minutes later, the human transport ship exited warp in view of Corneria. The planet was being orbited by several large vessels that looked like warships to Jason. Probably a normal planetary defense in case of invaders. A gruff Lylatian voice came over the radio that Jason's translator immediately converted to English.

_#"Human transport. This is Bruce Larson, Captain of the Corellia. Please send verification of your identity and purpose."#_

"This is ER-4, Elizabeth Henshaw, pilot of the Iron Eagle. Security code: SFV1914," Elizabeth replied sounding mostly professional._Mostly_. "We're the representatives from Earth you guys have been expecting."

They took a few seconds to confirm the information before they answered through the radio, _#"Your info checks out. We're sending you the coordinates for you landing. Enjoy your stay in Lylat."#_

* * *

Jennifer braced herself as she felt the entire ship shook while entering the planet's atmosphere. She could feel her jaw rattling as she was shaken up and down. Even with all the disorientating bouncing, she could feel gravity starting to weigh down on her again. Within minutes though, the shaking was greatly reduced after they had successfully entered the atmosphere.

She could feel the ship lowering its elevation in order to land, and within minutes she felt a bump as the ship's wheels met whatever ground they had landed on. As she felt the ship slow to a stop, she untangled herself from the cargo netting in case she needed to make a quick escape. She heard a heavy metal door open below her and quickly ceased all movement. She could her the voices of the representatives no more than ten feet below her.

"Nice job with that landing Miss Henshaw," came an unemotional male voice from below.

"Oh please Cooper, don't encourage her," came a second voice from below. This one was feminine, but older, more conniving, and far crueler.

"Don't listen to her Elizabeth," said a voice that caused Jennifer to feel a familiar pounding sensation in her chest. "You did a great job."

"Thanks Jason," said a much younger female voice. Something about that adoring tone made Jennifer get a painful feeling in her gut.

"He's right. Most kids your age wouldn't even know how to turn this thing on." Said a fifth voice that sounded gruff and held an air of military experience.

"Alright people, you can chit-chat some more once we reach the apartments," said the stoic voice. "As soon as that door opens we are representing Earth. I shouldn't have to remind you what that means. If things go bad, it could possibly lead to war. I know it won't be easy, but try to behave yourselves."

She heard someone walk across the metal floor before the cargo door's hydraulics activated. She heard the door finish opening with a loud thud. She listened to the footsteps as they walked around and gathered their things. She then took notice of a sixth set of footsteps coming up the entrance ramp. She noticed another voice ring out. It sounded gruff and experienced. Like someone who had survived many hard times.

"Agent Cooper, am I correct?"

"General Pepper, pleasure to meet you in person." The man she assumed was Agent Cooper replied.

Jennifer risked a quick look and noticed that General Pepper was an old bloodhound. By her guess, he was just short of six foot four inches in height. He had brown fur and was wearing a red and gold officers uniform, similarly colored hat, and black boots. She also quickly noted that it was night where they had landed, which would hopefully make sneaking off much easier.

"I hope our men in orbit didn't give you too much trouble. Standard security procedures, I'm sure you understand."

"Of course. It wasn't much trouble at all."

"Good. I see you brought your own modes of transport."

"Yes, we thought it might be easier than learning how your own vehicles work. And it would give us chance to examine each other's technology, in some aspects. _Plus_, some of us are kind of attached to them." Jennifer had a pretty good idea he was talking about Jason. "As long as you don't have any problem with it that is."

"Not at all. Our communications with your planet revealed that the rules of the road are identical so that's another obstacle avoided. We're keeping the media at bay for now, but they're bound to get inside somehow. They have an annoying tendency of not giving up without a story."

"Another similarity between our worlds."

"And an unfortunate one at that. Once you're ready to leave, I have a man who can lead you to where you'll be staying. I'll have some more men finish gathering your things and then they'll bring them to the apartments. Don't worry, you have my guarantee that they won't mess with anything."

"Thank you General. Before you leave, I believe introductions are in order." Jennifer risked another peek and saw Cooper standing next to General Pepper, with the other four representatives standing in a line in front of them. "This is Lieutenant Brody."

Brody gave the General a salute, which Pepper kindly returned. "General."

"Lieutenant."

"This is Elsa Radcliffe." Cooper said as he introduced an elderly lady who resembled a toad. Jennifer wasn't sure if she was allowed to make that comparison anymore.

"General." Elsa greeted in a sweet voice that was entirely different from how she sounded before.

"Madame." The General replied, tipping his hat to her.

"This young lady is Elizabeth Henshaw."

"General Pepper." The young brunette said cheerfully, but with respect, as she shook the bloodhound's hand.

"Miss Henshaw."

"And finally, Jason Rogers."

"General." Jason greeted holding out his hand.

"Mister Rogers." The General replied while shaking Jason's hand. Pepper then stepped back and addressed all of them. "Well, I shall leave you to finish packing while I fend off the savage beasts with the cameras."

General Pepper turned around and exited the ship. Once he had gone everyone went back to gathering their things. Jason unstrapped his bike and walked it off the transport. Elizabeth then told them to go on without her so she could taxi the ship into the hangers. Agent Cooper finished loading what he could into the corvette and back it out as well. Then Radcliffe and Brody piled into the SUV and drove it out. She then saw all three vehicles drive off and out of view of the cargo bay door, and Elizabeth left to wait in the ship's cockpit.

Once the sounds of their engines had disappeared, Jennifer climbed down from her hiding spot and hung from the cargo netting. She let go of the netting and dropped to the floor. As soon as her feet hit the ground she bent her knees and turned the momentum into a forward roll to decrease the stress on her joints. She stayed as low as she could as she slowly made her way to the exit. She kept an eye out for the personnel that would be coming to finish unloading the ship.

Once she was close enough to the off ramp, she dashed out of the ship and quickly turned around the corner so she could use the ship as cover. She looked around the back of the ship and saw what looked like an air-force base. To the front and rear of the ship was a runway and several landing pads of various heights. All with roads or ramps leading to the base. Beyond the side of the ship she was hiding behind though was about a hundred yards of grass before a chain link fence stood as the boundary for the base.

She decided to just go for it and sprinted for the fence. Her heart pounded with every step as she expected alarms to go off at any second. She reached the fence and quickly used the momentum from running to scale the fence in no time. She reached the top of the fence and was face-to-face with barbed wire. She sucked in a breath before reaching out and pushing the barbed wire down with her right arm. The barbs dug into her skin and drew some blood, but the damage was minimized thanks to her leather jacket.

She swung her leg up and over the lip of the fence, causing the barbs to dig into her leg as well. Ignoring the pain, she pulled her self up and over the top of the fence before falling fifteen feet down, this time on her stomach. The impact with the ground knocked the wind out of her.

She just laid there for a minute to regain her breath. She then pulled herself up and observed the damaged done by the fence. The punctures were barely bleeding; those would heal up in a day. She wasn't worried do about it getting infected, her curse made her immune to diseases. Her jacket however had suffered several punctures that had been turned into small tears when she had rolled over the top of the fence.

_"Meh, those will get fixed soon enough."_ she thought to herself with a tinge of fear at the end.

She looked around and noticed the glow of city lights in the distance. She could tell that they were many miles away. Seeing no better options for the moment, she started walking towards the city. Hoping she would run into a farm on the way there. The less people there were to spot her, the better. She looked up into the sky as she walked and saw two moons in the sky. One had a pale blue coloration and the other had a pale orange coloration.

She had no idea what time it was, but she was suspicious of the good fortune she was having. Rider always came out at night, so why he wasn't showing his presence was a mystery. Maybe it was because they were in a different galaxy? The thought sparked a glimmer of hope inside of her. If being in this galaxy meant she was free of Rider, then maybe she and Jason could have a future together? She quickly shook the notion out of her head though. It was too good to be true. There was no way it could be that simple. Besides, he may not be showing himself, but she could feel his presence still within her.

* * *

Jason pulled up to the apartments they would be staying in. The building design was different from what he was used to. There were two main buildings right next to each other with a staircase in between them at the front. The two buildings each contained two apartments: one on the ground floor and one on the second floor. The apartments took up the entire space of the building. Then what really set it apart, was the fifth apartment built on top of the two buildings. Jason vaguely remembered doing something similar with toy blocks when he was a child.

The buildings were all white and the outside seemed to be constructed from a type of metal. Instead of normal square windows, the buildings had long rectangular windows that stretched across the side of the building. The only gaps in the windows were when a wall separated two rooms.

Jason parked his bike in one of the parking spots and activated the anti-theft system. He didn't know if any Cornerians would try to steal his bike, but just in case, he had a security system installed in it. He unstrapped his stuff from the bike and carried it up to the front of the building while the others unpacked their stuff.

"Lieutenant, you have the ground floor apartment on the left. Miss Radcliffe, you have the one on the right. Rogers, you have the second floor on the left. Miss Henshaw will have the one on the right. I'll be on the third floor if you need me. Once the rest of our stuff gets here, get a good nights sleep. We're going to have a big day tomorrow."

Jason grabbed his stuff and carried it up to his apartment. He unlocked the door with the key Cooper had given him and pushed the door open. He turned on the lights and almost dropped his bags as he looked at his living arrangements.

To his left was the living room which had soft grey carpet, with white walls and lights installed into the center of the ceiling. There were two large comfortable white couches, each backed against a window. Opposite the couch on the right was a large HDTV mounted to the wall. There was a small grey table in the corner between the two couches. A small waist high wall separated the living room from the dining room and backed up against that was a white leather armchair slightly turned to face the TV better.

The dining room had fake wood floors, a solid wood dining table and chairs, with a fancy lighting fixture hanging from the ceiling. Right next to that was the kitchen with marble counter tops, an oven/stove with a microwave over it, several wood cupboards, and a stainless steel sink. The kitchen led into a hallway that led to the outside deck, the supply closet, and the apartment's bedroom at the end.

The deck was made out of the same metal that the building was, and had glass and steel railings. To the right was a small wood table with leaned back beach chair to either side. To the left was a barbecue grill and, much to Jason's delight, a hot tub.

Jason hauled his stuff into the bedroom and dropped it on the ground as he looked around. Backed against the window was a large king size bed with white sheets, white pillows, and a grey comforter that went with the carpet. The bed had two grey bedside tables on either side of it. There was a digital clock sitting on one of the tables. On the right wall hung another HDTV over a set of solid wood drawers. To the right of the door was a large solid wood wardrobe. To the left of the room was a step in closet that was to the right of the bathroom entrance.

The bathroom was elegant, just like the rest of the apartment. The countertops were marble with two ceramic sinks installed in them, all in front of a large wall mirror. The toilet room had its own door for privacy, even though the bathroom itself had a sliding door that could be locked. The shower had marble and glass walls, and was large enough that two people could fit inside and have plenty of elbow room. The showers water system had been installed into the ceiling so the water rained down from there.

After getting over his initial shock of how well they were already being treated, Jason started to unpack his things. When he finished he went to the living room and looked out the window to see if the rest of their stuff had arrived yet. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long as he spotted headlights coming down the road. Pepper had set them up with apartments near the waterfront so they could look out onto the sandy beaches. It was also a slightly less busy part of town that would hopefully decrease troubles such as traffic, noise, and crime.

Jason exited his apartment and walked down the stairs to meet Elizabeth. She exited one of the Lylatian SUVs, along with a white and brown beagle. It had felt weird meeting the Lylatians at first, but he seemed to be getting used to it fairly quickly. He guessed it might have been from playing several video games where the characters were half human/half animal like the Lylatians were.

"So, did I miss anything?" Elizabeth asked as she walked around to the back of the SUV. She opened it up to reveal several suitcases, and tucked behind them was something round and shiny.

"Not really. Cooper told us which apartments we would be staying in. Your's is the second floor on the right. Careful with the noise though, Elsa's right below you." He informed her as she pulled out two suitcases. Upon receiving the news about living above Elsa, her face contorted into one of disgust.

"Great." She muttered in disdainful sarcasm.

"Look at it this way, at least you're not roommates." Jason said with a smirk.

Elizabeth visibly shook at the mention of it. "Don't even suggest that sort if thing."

"C'mon," was all he said as he grabbed some more suitcases and easily lifted them. They carried the bags up to Elizabeth's room and she opened the door. She stepped inside and dropped the luggage on the floor as she cast her eyes upon her apartment. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped to the floor as she took the place in.

"This. Is. AMAZING!" She shouted in glee. She spun around the room acting as giddy as a schoolgirl. Jason just set her bags down inside the door and left her to settle into her new residence. He walked back down the stairs to where the beagle was walking up with another bag and the big shiny disk. He told the beagle thanks as he took the bag and disk from him. The beagle nodded and told him goodnight before turning around and driving off in the SUV. Jason walked up the stairs and knocked on Elizabeth's door. Within a few seconds the door opened to reveal Elizabeth, still as wide eyed as ever.

"Can you believe it? I wasn't sure how well we were going to be treated, but I wasn't expecting _this_."

"No, they definitely beat my expectations. Here's the last of your things." He said, handing her the bag. "Why do you have so much stuff anyway?"

"Oh it's not that much. Just the usual: Tablets, work tools, scanners, hologram projectors, my robo-pets, extra ARC reactors to recharge anything." She answered, looking like those were the only logical options to bring.

"Of course, well I guess I'll see you in the morning." He said giving her a quick wave before turning to leave. Jason returned to his apartment and put the disk next to his bed. He decided to go to bed and got what he needed to get ready. They had all of tomorrow to get themselves settled in before their first meeting with the press.

Once he was ready for bed he tucked himself in and waited for sleep to overtake him. Jason dug his hand into his pajama's pocket and pulled out a small black box. He opened it up to reveal a gold and diamond ring inside. The diamonds were arranged to look like a flower with six petals and a slightly larger one in the middle of them. Smaller diamonds were embedded into the gold around the outside of the ring. On the inside of the ring was Jennifer's name, engraved into the gold.

Jason just laid there, staring at the ring. He did this most nights, staring at the item that was all that remained of his dreams.

* * *

Fox held open the door of their car as he helped Krystal out. She was wearing an elegant black dress with black high heeled shoes. Black beads adorned her hair instead of the white beads that she usually wore. She matched him with his black tuxedo and black tie.

She looped her arm through his as they walked side by side into government building in front of them. It was mostly news reporters and their camera crews who were using the front entrance. All the military officers and government officials were parked in a special lot behind the building. It was a bit crowded, so they were probably going to have to sit at the back. He didn't mind though, it was nice not being the center of attention for once.

They reached the press room and found seats at the very back next to the door they had walked in through. They took their seats and Fox started looking around at the room. The back wall had the Cornerian flag hanging from it. Then there was a blue stage with a podium that had the Cornerian emblem on it. At the back of the stage were ten chairs. The right five were occupied by several generals of the highest rank in Corneria's army. Fox recognized one of the generals as General Kane. He had helped some of his men out during the Lylat Wars. The other five empty chairs must have been meant for the human representatives. Fox didn't blame them for having them hiding in a back room at the moment, the press in the room were already ecstatic.

After a few minutes the news reporters had finally settled down, and the press conference began. Fox saw General Kane get up and stand in front of the podium as he addressed the crowd. He was a white Bulldog with brown eyes, and a few grey hairs caused by age. General Kane was dressed in his green officers uniform, with gold embroidery to indicate his rank. He had multiple well earned medals pinned to his chest. He was considered one of the greatest generals in Lylat's history, only surpassed by General Pepper and the late General Barone.

"Welcome everyone. I would like to thank you all for coming here tonight to welcome our guests. It pleases me to..."

Fox was disrupted from listening to the General when he felt Krystal shiver and her grip tighten in his hand. Which meant that she sensed something was wrong. He leaned in to whisper in her ear so no one overheard their conversation. He noticed she had her eyes closed and had that look on her face that meant she was concentrating on something telepathically.

"Krystal, what is it.?"

"Something's wrong Fox. I can feel a dark and powerful presence near us."

"Can you tell where it is?" He asked, starting to sound a bit panicked. He had only brought his pistol with him, concealed in it's holster behind his back.

"Yes," her eyes opened and she looked at the door they had entered through. "It's right-look out!"

Fox knew to trust Krystal's instincts and quickly dove into the row of chairs away from the door, pulling Krystal down with him. He had just started to do so, when the doors to the conference room blew off their hinges and into the middle aisle. Everyone screamed and backed away from the door. Fox looked over his shoulder at the entrance and saw black smoke pouring through the doorway as the smell of sulfur filled the air. He would have wondered why the smoke wasn't setting off any of the detectors, but he noticed something else instead. Something was glowing orange inside of the smoke.

He could hear heavy footsteps as the orange glow moved to the edge of the smoke. What he saw next scared him more than anything he had seen before. Out of the smoke stepped someone who was six and a half feet tall. He wore black leather boots, black jeans with knee pads that had pointy chrome spikes poking out of them. He wore a black leather jacket with steel shoulder pads that had more spikes coming out of them. Across his chest and over his shoulder was a long steel chain. His hand had black leather fingerless gloves on with more steel spikes on the back of the hand and fingers. The parts of the fingers not covered by the gloves were skeletal and had flames coming off them. And that was the scariest part of the mysterious figure. His head was a skull engulfed in flame. Fox didn't recognize the shape of the skull, but he knew that it was one. The bone had been burnt a dark grey and where there should have been eyes, there were empty sockets with only small orange glowing orbs indicating what direction the thing was looking.

Everyone in the room fell silent and were trembling with fear as they stared at the walking nightmare. Fox suddenly remembered old stories he had heard as a boy of the grim reaper. A skeleton wearing a black robe and carrying a scythe to reap the souls of those whose time was up. It had been years since he'd heard those tales, but he was pretty sure he would've remembered if the reaper had been engulfed in flames. The skeleton lifted a flaming finger and pointed towards General Kane.

Then it spoke in a voice that sent chills down from his tips of his ears to the tip of his tail and back. It sounded cruel, cold, and unforgiving; like a blade being sharpened on a smooth rock.

"_**Guilty.**_"

The figure's hand returned to its side and it started walking towards the stage. Two soldiers who had been positioned on either side of the room moved in front of the stage and opened fire on it. Their plasma rifles fired multiple blasts into the harbinger of death, but the thing was left un-phased by them. The soldier on the right tried to hit it with its rifle, but a skeletal hand intercepted the hit and stopped it in its tracks. The nightmare yanked the rifle out of the soldiers hand and tossed the rifle behind it. The nightmare then grabbed the soldier and threw him at the other soldier. After successfully knocking both soldiers down, it continued its way to the stage.

General Kane quickly dashed out the side entrance to try and escape in his car out back. The harbinger of death followed him out while everyone else was frozen stiff. Fox was the first to shake the fear out of himself and ran after the two. He drew his pistol as he made his way through the halls. He had just put his hand on the handle to push open the final door, when he heard the general's horrified screams from behind the door.

He pushed the door open and took in his surroundings. The gravel parking lot reeked of sulfur. To his left was a parked car that could be used for cover. Several other cars were parked around the lot, but only Kane's was in the middle of the lot. And standing right next to it, was the flaming skeleton holding the General by his collar up against the car. The front of the car beyond the windshield had been separated from the rest. It looked like a large plasma torch had cut right through it. What made Fox almost freeze though, was what was happening to the General.

"NOOOO! MAKE IT STOP! AAARRRGGGHHH!"

The general's eyes had orange fire coming out of them with smoke rising from the flames. Fox subconsciously made his way to cover behind a parked car, while his conscience was trying to figure out what was happening.

Within seconds the fire died from the general's eyes and the grim reaper dropped his body to the ground. The general's body was limp and just flopped onto its side, which made Fox assume he was dead. Fox leveled his sights with the skeleton's head as it walked around behind the General's car. The skeleton held two fingers to it's teeth and let out a loud whistle. Although Fox hadn't the faintest idea how.

Fox was about to shout for it to freeze, when the sound of a loud explosion erupted from behind him. War-built instincts took over and he dove for cover behind the parked car. He heard the sound of wheels colliding with gravel, and the sound of a loud engine roaring with life. He looked over the top of the car's trunk and saw the walking nightmare standing next to a flaming motorcycle.

The back of the bike behind the seat was smoke black with chrome trim and shark-fins around the outside and down the middle. The seat was black leather and all the machinery underneath it was steel. The steel exhaust pipes extended to about the middle of the rear wheel with the orange glow of flames coming out of it. The gas tank was also smoke black and had silver skeletal fingers reaching from the bikes machinery and grabbing onto it. The bike's fork and handle bars were large and rigid chrome chains that lead from the handles down to the front wheel. On the front of the bike where the headlight should have been was the steel skull of some kind of beast. It's eyes and nostrils were filled with flames. The skull was elongated and at the bottom, were five large teeth curving out and down from the bike. The motorbike's wheels were made entirely out of fire.

The skeleton set one hand on the handle bars and Fox finally got the courage to yell at it too 'freeze'. His courage left him a split second later though, when the flaming skeleton turned its head to glare at him. Emerald green eyes met glowing orange orbs, and he started shaking in fear as the orange balls of fire seemed to burn his very soul.

His mind was instantly flooded with visions of death. There was no noise by the images were none the less disturbing. Pilots getting blown up in their cockpits as they got shot down. Men with weapons getting shot and killed from plasma blasts. More pilots crashing to their doom. A Dalmatian getting blow up by a grenade.

The visions stopped the second the skeleton broke eye contact with him. Fox, still feeling the effects from what had happened to him, just stood there shaking with fear as the skeleton got on its bike. A fireball erupted from the bikes figurehead and destroyed the gate to the lot. The motorcycle's engine roared as it drove out of the lot and turned to drive down the street. Leaving a trail of flames behind it.

Fox came to his senses and ran to the fallen general's side. He gasped in shock as he looked at the general's eyes. They were completely ash grey with bits glowing orange, like coals retaining the heat from a fire. He stumbled back and looked at the trail of flames left by the walking nightmare. As he waited for more people to come out after him he kept asking himself questions, but they were all different variants of just one.

_"What was that thing?"_

* * *

Jason just sat against the wall of the hall he had hidden in. His knees brought up to his face, and his left head covering his right that was clenched in a fist. His breathing was unsteady and he couldn't stop shaking in fear. Of course, who wouldn't be after what he saw.

He had to use the restroom before the conference started, only he got lost on the way back. As he turned to go down another hallway, which happened to be the one right outside the conference room, he froze as he saw something in front of him. It was the tall, leather clad, flaming skeleton that was about to crash the press conference. He should have noticed how the figure's clothes bore a striking resemblance to Jennifer's but he was too focused on the flaming skull on top of it all. He would have noticed the clothes had he looked longer, but after being scared stiff for a quick second, he backed into the hallway he had come from and sat against the wall.

He hadn't moved an inch since he saw that thing. He heard the screams from the conference room, but he didn't dare go in after that it. Partly because he was scared, and partly because he knew there was nothing he could do.

The stories his grandfather told him were true. The legends were real. The Ghost Rider was here.


	3. Ch 3: Angel to Demon

**_Okay, I thought I would let you guys know that I did some editing to the last chapter. You don't have to re-read it if you don't want to, all I did was take out any evidence of a potential relationship between Jason and Elizabeth. So, I won't keep you from the new chapter any longer. Read on!_**

* * *

**Ch. 3: Angel to Demon**

* * *

Jennifer woke up sprawled out prone on soft green grass. She lifted her gaze and saw that she was lying in front of some kind of apartment complex. There were two buildings that house one room per floor with a large a larger room connecting them together on top. She picked herself off the ground and looked at her surroundings. Across the street behind her was a sandy beach. To her right was a park, and to her left was more buildings. She also noticed that where she had been sprawled out unconscious, was in front of Jason's bike.

_At least Rider had the decency to return it._ she thought to herself. She then realized that she needed to hide somewhere. She wasn't on earth anymore, she wasn't even supposed to be here in the first place, and after the little show Rider had given the Lylatians last night, she doubted that she would be welcomed.

She looked to make sure no one had seen her, made a quick dash towards the buildings to her left and darted into the alleyways. If these were like the alleys back on earth, then they would be traveled by little to no one. The next problem she had was food. Thankfully she had enough experience to know where to find food, she just hoped nothing they had was toxic to humans.

* * *

Jason sat with his four fellow representatives in a military interrogation room. The walls around them were brick and mortar, the only openings being a small barred window, a door, and a mirror that Jason knew was actually a window. The ceiling had a single light fixture installed, which was enough to illuminate the room. They all were sitting around a metal table being watched by a security camera.

After the appearance of the Rider, they had all been rounded up and brought to this facility. Cooper and Trevor had gone quietly, Elizabeth had questioned the authorities to no avail, and Elsa had been outraged. Jason had gone quietly when they found him in the hallway. He didn't fight them because he had a feeling about why they were brought in. The others still seemed to be unaware of the appearance of the Ghost Rider.

They had been sitting in there for over an hour, losing their sense of time in the dull boredom of the room. Then General Pepper came in, and he did **not** look happy. He stood in front of the table and set a briefcase down it. He placed his hands on the table and looked them all in the eye. When his gaze set on Jason, he knew that Jason was aware of something.

"May I ask why you're holding us here?" Agent Cooper said cooly.

"You come to our system and offer us peace." Pepper growled. "And when you get here, _one_ of _you_ turns into some...thing and kills General Kane, one of our best generals and one of my best friends."

Everyone was shocked at the accusation. They looked at each other before addressing the general.

"What makes you think one of us killed your friend?" Agent Cooper asked.

"This does," Pepper replied before pulling a small tablet out of the briefcase. He set it on the table and turned it on to reveal a video. He pressed play and the events of what happened in the media room replayed on the screen. Everyone's eyes widened in fear when they saw the Rider enter. When the video was finished everyone's eyes returned to Pepper, who was still glaring at all of them. "That was recorded by one of the camera men in that room. Now, would one of you mind telling me _what_ that was. Our scientist have determined that the skull was human. Now I just want to know which one of you it is, and why."

Agent Cooper was the first of them to respond. "General, I can assure you that none of us are the thing that attacked General Kane last night. We made sure to quadruple our checks on everyone before we approved them for the mission. Whatever this thing is, it is not one of us."

"Then how did it get here, to our star system?"

None of them spoke for a while under the intense gaze of General Pepper. Elizabeth nervously cleared her throat and all eyes turned to her. She lightly tapped her fingers on the table.

"I think it... might have... stowed away on the ship." She explained, rushing through the last part.

"How do you get that conclusion?" Trevor asked.

"Well, I went through our inventory of extra translators, and one of them was missing."

"And you didn't bother to report this?" Agent Cooper asked sternly.

"Well, I didn't think much of it at the time. I just thought SHIELD messed up and forgot one. I didn't realize it meant we had a stowaway who turned into that thing."

"If you aren't involved in this, then where did the bike come from?" Pepper asked.

"What bike?" Jason asked.

"Fox McCloud, one of my most trusted men, saw that thing drive off on a bike made of fire."

"I was afraid of that."

"Wish to share something Mr. Rogers?"

Jason's eyes shifted from person to person before he answered. "Ghost Rider. The thing that attacked General Kane, is known as the Ghost Rider."

"Care to explain what this _Ghost Rider_ is?"

"From what my grandfather told me; the Ghost Rider is a spirit of vengeance. He goes out to bring justice upon those who have shed innocent blood. Nothing can stop him."

"Forgive me if I doubt that last statement." Pepper then stood up straight to address everyone. "Until this Ghsot Rider business is resolved, you are all going to stay here where we can keep an eye on you."

And with that the old bloodhound picked his stuff back up and left the interrogation room. Outside the room, Pepper met with Fox (who had been watching from behind the two way mirror). Fox, Krystal, and Falco would patrol the city tonight in search of the Ghost Rider. If they encountered him, than they could bring him in to answer for his crimes. If not, then one of the five in the interrogation room must be the culprit.

* * *

As the sun set behind the mountains to the west, Jennifer was hiding behind a trash dumpster in an alleyway. She sat on the rough asphalt and chewed on her dinner, which was composed of a half eaten bagel and an unfinished sandwich. As she ate and watched the light grow dimmer and dimmer, her unescapable fate getting closer once more, she thought back to her first transformation and the first time she met, _him_.

* * *

She had put on her favorite white leather jacket, which went with her white jeans and made her ice blue shirt stand out. It was one of her favorite outfits, mostly because Jason always told her she looked like an angel in it. She was going out to catch a late movie with some of her friends for her eighteenth birthday. She stepped out the door and locked it. When she turned to face her bike though, she saw a man standing next to it.

He wasn't necessarily tall, but he held an intimidating presence. He had silvery grey hair and eyes that were black as night. He wore all black clothes and held a cane with a blue crystal skull on top in his hand. He stood there in silence and examined her bike. Jennifer had never seen the guy before, but he didn't look like a thief. All the same, she didn't like him standing so close to her bike.

"Hey!"

The man turned his gaze toward her and she felt like she had just drunk a glass of water that was colder than ice. The man smiled at her before walking around the bike to stand between her and it. He folded both hands gently over the top of the cane and set it on the ground in front of him with a faint _clack_. Almost immediately after the cane hit the pavement she felt a slight tingling sensation in her feet, but thought nothing of it.

"Nice bike you have there." The man said in a cold, somewhat raspy voice as he gestured toward her bike with his head. "And I see you've grown to be quite the young woman, _Jennifer_."

The fact that the man, whom she was positive she had never met, knew her name greatly unsettled her. The man slowly started waking around her. She didn't like just standing there and being vulnerable, but when she tried to move her feet they wouldn't budge. Rather than standing there like a ice statue, she figured she could at least try to get some answers. Like, _who in the world this guy is_.

"Do I know you?" She asked trying to keep restrain herself. She knew getting angry in a situation like this was not a good idea.

"No. But I've been keeping my eye on you, waiting for this day." He said it so calm, like this was just idle chit-chat.

"How long have you been watching me?" If this guy was some kind of stalker, Jason would make this guy pay ten times what any judicial system would.

"Since before you were born." He said like it was an everyday fact of life. He continued to walk circles around her. "Your father and I were acquaintances. There was an 'agreement' we made before he died."

"What? You saying I'm inheriting something?"

"You could say that. You see, your father had a bad case of cancer and I had the means to give him the cure. So, we agreed that in exchange for something, I would cure him."

"But my father died from getting hit by a bus."

"Yes well, he should have looked where he was going. But I assure you, he had just gotten the news that his cancer was gone."

"And... What did he agree to give in exchange for the cure?" She asked nervously. The man was right behind her and leaned over her shoulder to whisper in her ear.

"_Your soul._"

The words sent shivers down her spine. She realized she could move her feet and spun around, but the man had disappeared. She looked all around, but there wasn't even a trace of the old man. Still a little shaken from her encounter, she decided she should get going before she encountered any more creeps.

She got on her bike and started it up. She was about to head left out of the driveway, but some invisible force was stopping her. She felt her hands forced to turn to the right and rev the bike to full throttle. A loud screech echoed down the street and her bike shot off. She went from zero to a hundred in three seconds flat. The world became a blur around her as her bike drove her at breakneck speeds.

A matter of minutes later her bike broke through the chain link fence that surrounded an old, abandoned, warehouse. The doors were wide open and the bike drove in before turning sideways and skidding to a halt, throwing Jennifer off. She slid across the ground for several yards before coming to a stop. She picked herself up and stood, despite the headache she had from high speed traveling.

She felt hot. Not normal heat from the sun hot, but like something was warming her on the inside. Her internal temperature continued to rise. It only intensified her headache and her skin was staring to turn red. Her head felt like someone was cooking it inside a microwave and she clutched it with her hands. She rubbed her eyes as light wisps of smoke rose from them. A sudden spike of pain erupted in her gut, and her arms flew to it as she gritted her teeth and grunted pain.

She opened her eyes -which had turned into a fiery orange color- and saw her feet on fire. The flames swirled around her feet and slowly rose up her legs, turning her shoes into black boots and her white jeans to black. Her bones felt like metal rods that had been sitting in the middle of a volcano. The pain exploded in head again and it felt like someone was trying to grow a sun inside her brain. She clutched her head as she threw it back and let out a pain filled scream. Halfway through the scream her voice changed from a high pitch to something demonic. She was in so much pain tears tried to form in her eyes, only to evaporate instantaneously.

She pulled her hands away and stared at then in horror. Her finger tips were on fire and were burning away her skin. The skin turned from bright red to charred black and crumbled away from her hands, leaving only the bones on fire. Black smoke wove it's way around her hands and solidified into studded black fingerless gloves. The studs morphed, sharpening and elongating into half-inch spikes. The flames swirled around and crawled up her arms, changing the snow white leather to tar black.

She felt something inside her head. Something trying to suppress her consciousness. She clutched her head again as she fought the invader of her mind. The skin on her face had started to char and burn in small spots as she continued to scream in pain. She could feel the presence in her mind, slowly taking control. She fought against it, but it was still winning. With her grip slipping, she made one last attempt to retain control of her mind.

It failed.

Her arms quickly swung down to her sides and her limbs went rigid. Her head erupted in fire, which incinerated her hair and what was left of her skin. The Ghost Rider was in control now.

It was a weird feeling for Jennifer. It was like she was sitting in the passenger seat of a car. She was aware of everything around her and what her body was doing, but she couldn't do anything about it.

_"Hello Jennifer."_ A cold voice spoke in her head.

_"Who are you? _What_ are you?"_ She asked. If she hadn't been panicking before, she was now.

_"Just call me Ghost Rider."_

Ghost Rider then turned and walked over to her bike. He placed a skeletal hand on it and flames spread across the bike, morphing it into the black and chrome Hell Cycle. Before he got on the bike, Rider looked to his right and saw something. Lying on the ground against the wall was a steel chain. He walked over and picked the chain up. Ghostly orange flames spread from his hand and across the chain links. Rider flicked the chain and it wrapped itself over his shoulder. He then mounted the bike and drove out of the warehouse.

* * *

Jennifer was leaning over the edge of a dumpster as she scavenged for more to eat. The last rays of light had disappeared behind the mountains an hour ago. She pulled out a half empty water bottle and twisted the cap off. She took a drink from the bottle and tasted backwash from whoever this bottle once belonged to. She managed to swallow it regardless, having drunk much worse in the past.

She dropped the bottle and doubled over as a spike of pain burned her gut. It wouldn't be long before Rider came out. She steadied herself by keeping a hand on the dumpster. It would seem she wouldn't suffer in peace however as she heard a voice from down the alley.

"Well what do we have here?"

She looked to her left to see two dogs standing there. A pitbull and a golden retriever. They were walking towards her from the street and the look on their faces did not seem pleasant. The increase in pain was an extra alert that these two were bad news. Both dogs eyes widened when they noticed she was a different species. Jennifer slowly shuffled away from them, but the pain was preventing her from making any significant progress.

"I think that must be one of those humans that came here." The retriever told the pitbull.

"Well then, it would be rude for us not to give her a proper welcome." The pitbull replied with nothing but evil intention behind his words. The pitbull started walking towards her before ordering the retriever, "Make sure we're not interrupted."

As the pitbull got closer Jennifer reached the edge of the dumpster. Without anything to steady herself with, she fell to the ground and tried to huddle into the corner between the dumpster and the wall. The pitbull reached her and started trying to pull her out of the corner. Jennifer kept trying to pull herself out of his grip, letting out pain filled screams here and there. Seeing no better options, she decided to give in.

"Come on! Get out here!"

The pitbull managed to twist her around, only to be met with a spiked fist. The pitbull went flying back into the opposite wall and fell to the ground. The was a chunk of his head missing where the fist had met the dog's face. The wound was cartelized and burned around the edges like embers. The retriever looked back to see what happened to his friend. Upon seeing his dead friend he started to walk towards where Jennifer was.

He hadn't taken five steps before he froze. An orange glow began to emit from where the human girl had once been. A hand reached up and grabbed the edge of the dumpster, it's skeletal fingers flickering with fire. A flaming skull rose from behind the dumpster and looked at the pitbull's body before turning its terrorizing gaze to the retriever.

The retriever panicked and turned to run away. He had just reached where the alley met the street when he felt something choke him. His hands reached up to his throat and he felt chain links wrapped all around his neck and burning into his skin. At the other end of the chain whip was Ghost Rider. The Rider yanked hard on the chain, and the retriever's body incinerated into nothing but ashes.

Rider flicked the chain and wrapped it over his shoulder. He walked towards where the retriever had once been standing. Just before he stepped out onto the sidewalk, his bike drove up and stopped right in front of him. He mounted the bike and drove down the almost deserted streets, leaving the few spectators that there were staring in fright.

* * *

Fox, Krystal, and Falco were flying over the city in their Arwings. They had been waiting at the nearby space force base for the past four hours. Slippy had agreed to babysit Marcus again while they waited for the appearance of this _Ghost Rider_. They had gotten the call an hour ago. Someone had reported seeing the Rider driving towards the south side of town.

Fox was about to give up hope, then they spotted him. A motorbike with wheels of fire weaving between highway traffic and leaving a trail of flames behind it. The three Arwings flew behind the Rider.

"So what now Foxie?" Falco asked in his usual arrogant voice.

"We follow him for now. Can't risk opening fire with so many civilians around."

Ghost Rider looked over his shoulder and noticed the three space ships following him. He increased his speed and causing the Arwings to accelerate to keep up. He pulled off the highway and into the city. The buildings were low enough in this part of the city for his team to keep an eye on him.

Fox had to admit, this guy was fast. The Rider took several turns to try and lose them, but they still kept up with him. He was heading down a dead-end street with a skyscraper at the end of it.

"Doesn't that bone head know this is a dead-end?" Falco commented, sounding like he expected Rider to crash. Rider kept going down the street, _accelerating_ as he did so. When he reached the end of the road, instead of crashing into the wall, he drove _up_ the wall. Fox halted his Arwing and just stared in surprise as the black and chrome bike scaled the wall like it was an everyday road.

"Apparently his definition of dead-end and yours, Falco, are _very_ different." Krystal stated in surprise.

Ghost Rider was over half way up the building when the team came out of their state of shock. The ascended in their Arwings but following was all they could do for now. The top of the building was slanted at a forty-five degree angle rather than a traditional flat-top. Rider hit the accelerator as he reached the ramp and shot off into the sky.

When hit the ground, the impact caused a crater the size of an asteroid. Rider drove out of the crater and down the road like nothing had happened. The Star Fox team stayed hot on his tail and followed him onto a different highway, this one heading northbound. This time Rider stopped holding back and started accelerating to impossible speeds. Fox hit the throttle and sped after Ghost Rider at full speed. But somehow, someway, the Rider was still outrunning them.

It wasn't long before the Ghost Rider was nothing more than just a small glow in the distance, but even that disappeared. Gritting his teeth and growling, Fox was forced to accept defeat and slowed his speed back down. His team followed suit and they contemplated their options.

"What now Fox?" Krystal asked him.

"We follow the trail of fire. He has to stop sometime."

* * *

The trail of flames led them to a construction site on the coast. Construction equipment and vehicles were everywhere. They were close enough that they could make out Ghost Rider standing in the middle of a circle of black limos parked next to a large crane. Fox used the zoom-in feature on his HUD to get a closer look. Surrounding Ghost Rider were about fifteen men in suits with blasters. The computer in his Arwing got hits on some of the faces and confirmed them as members of the Vespara mafia.

The mafia opened fire and plasma bolts shot from the rifles and into the Rider. He just stood there and didn't even flinch as hundreds of plasma bolts were shot into his body. The mafia stopped firing after realizing how fruitless their efforts were. The Rider turned to the men who stood behind him and thrust his hands forward. A finger-snap later, and a wall of flames erupted from the ground and engulfed six of the men. The rest of the men started to panic. Some started shooting again, some just cowered in fear, and some made a foolish attempt to fight him at close range.

Rider turned to a man who tried to rush him and kicked him in the gut. There was enough force behind the kick to send the man flying back and crash into a limo. His neck made impact with the edge of the car and broke it. Something hit Rider in the back of the head and he turned to face the offender. A orange cat was standing there holding his rifle like it was a club. He tried to swing the rifle again, but Rider caught it in one hand and clutched the cat's throat in the other. He ripped the rifle out of the cat's hands and threw it to the side. He then lifted the cat up by his throat and slammed him into the ground with enough strength to cave in the back of his skull. He felt someone shooting him and saw a parrot aiming down a rifle. A fireball formed in Rider's skeletal hand and he threw it at the shooter. The fireball flew straight and burned a hole into the parakeet's head. Another man tried shooting him but he just took his chain and whipped it around the chimpanzee. He yanked and the chimp disintegrated to ashes. The chain wrapped itself back around him as he observed who was left.

Three mafia members were left, the others had given up and just started running. Two of them were huskies that stood shoulder to shoulder. They were aiming their rifles, but shaking tremendously. Behind them stood their boss, a Doberman in a silk suit and wearing a lot of jewelry. Rider started walking towards them, the huskies fired but it did nothing. When he was six feet away the huskies threw their rifles away and booked it, leaving their boss to his fate. The Doberman drew a large knife from beneath his jacket and in a final effort, thrust it into Ghost Rider's shoulder.

Rider stopped and just turned his head to look at the knife. The mafia boss felt the handle of the knife getting hot. He pulled out the knife in time to see the blade glowing white hot and start melting. He released his grip on the knife just as Rider grabbed him by his jacket. He lifted the mafia boss up and spoke to him in his bone-chilling voice.

**_"Your soul is stained by the blood of the innocent. Look into my eyes. Feel their pain."_**

The Doberman stared into the glowing orbs and felt his mind being sucked in. He suddenly saw and felt everything. Every kill order. Every torture. Every life he had taken by either his own hand or someone else's. And all the pain those people had felt in their final moments hit him. He let out a horror filled scream as he felt it, getting shot, tortured, electrocuted, burned, stabbed. All at once.

Fox watched as Rider decimated the mafia and did the same thing to the Doberman that he had done to General Kane. A few seconds passed and the Doberman went limp. Rider tossed the body to the ground and made his way back to his bike. Seeing their opportunity the team flew in and surrounded Ghost Rider. Rider was standing next to his bike when he took notice of Star Fox.

Rider looked at each of them, green blasts hit the ground behind him and threw up some dirt. Rider turned to face the ship that fired at him. He saw something shoot out of the ship's missile tube and rocket towards him. He let out a demonic roar just before it was cut off by the SmartBomb's impact. The ensuing fireball incinerated everything within a fifty yard radius. The explosion destroyed one of the supports on the nearby crane, causing it to topple over and crash directly where Ghost Rider had been standing.

"Wasn't that a little excessive Falco?" Fox questioned. After seeing what he had seen, he knew taking the Rider in peacefully would've been impossible. He wasn't sure that a SmartBomb was necessary to finish him though.

"Come on Fox, you saw that thing. It wasn't going to go with us willingly or otherwise, and if we're going to destroy something then we might as well do it right."

Fox still felt Falco had been a little over eager to blow something up, but he knew arguing would be pointless. Every word would go in one side of the avian's head and out the other. Since their business was done, he ordered his team back to base. They flew through the air as the first rays of sunshine started to light brighten the skies. All worries of the Ghost Rider left behind them.

* * *

_**I hope you guys enjoyed, feel free to leave a review and show your support. I really do appreciate it, and it helps keep me motivated. Until next time,**_

_**Wolffury out.**_


End file.
